Liquid dispenser



Apnl 27, 1965 0.1-1. DUDA ETAL LIQUID DISPENSER Filed April 11, 1965 I Il I I I u Zen: 6;. C y ware;

ad-6m .Coez Gmdf; $10M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,180,534 LIQUEDDISPENdER Otto H. Dada, Bell, and Res: C. Cooprider, Downey, (Iaiifi,assignors to Caimar, lino, City of Industry, Calif., a corporation orCalifornia Filed Apr. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 272,279 4 (Iiaims. (Cl.222-321) This invention relates to new and improved plastic dispensersor pumps of the reciprocating piston type for discharging liquids fromportable containers in the form of a fine spray or mist, or as a stream.

It has long been the practice to employ, for the dispensing of liquidsfrom small containers, hand actuated pumps formed of moldable plasticmaterial comprising, in assembled relation, a stationary unit includinga barrel or cylinder for direct association with the container, and areciprocable unit including a plunger or piston reciprocable in thestationary unit to effect discharge or" the container contents, andhaving at its upper end a discharge head from which the fluid isexpelled.

Within recent years certain pumps of this type have been supplied withmeans to minimize or prevent leakage of liquid from the pumps, afterassembly thereof with containers for the liquids, to facilitate shippingand to avert the annoyance of leakage after the product has been put inuse by the consumer. Usually the sealing of the pump, and its releasefor normal operation, are achieved by rotation of a threaded elementabout the pump axis to displace axially the reciprocable unit to andfrom an immobilized and inoperative position in which sealing means arerendered effective. A number of United States patents have been grantedon improved pumps of this kind, including Cooprider, 3,062,416, grantedNovember 6, 1962, Cooprider et al., 2,956,509, granted October 18, 1960,and Corsette, 3,053,459, granted September 11, 1962.

Such pumps are commonly provided with a container cap, mounted on thestationary unit of the pump, and threaded on the neck of a container orbottle to suspend the pump in the container, and a radial flange or likepart on the stationary unit is clamped between the container cap and thecontainer neck when the cap is threaded down. Since the pump is soconstructed that it may be sealed, it is essential that leakage at thecontainer cap be prevented also. While this may be achieved by insertinga gasket beneath the radial flange, so that the gasket will becompressed between the flange and the upper end of the container neckwhen the cap is threaded down, the gasket increases the cost of thedevice and presents an added assembling problem.

In accordance with the present invention, it is proposed to form aneffective sealing means integrally with the radial flange, theconstruction being such that engagement of the sealing means with a partof the container neck of uniform contour is assured.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to pro vide, in apump of the type described, an annular sealing flange integral with anddependent from the radial flange on the stationary unit, the sealingflange having a diameter such that it engages the surface at the upperend of the container neck. It is a feature of the invention that correctengagement of the sealing flange with the aforesaid surface is insuredby the provision at the outer edge of the radial flange of an annulardepending centering flange, integral with the radial flange, andengaging the peripheral portion of the container neck.

Further objects and features of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a vertical sectional view of one form of3,13%,534 Patented Apr. 27, 1965 pump to which the invention may beapplied, showing the pump asssernbled with a container;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion of thestructure shown in FIGURE 1, with the parts in the position which theyoccupy as the pump is applied to the container but before the containercap is threaded down;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 and showing the parts in theposition which they occupy when the container cap is fully applied; and

"FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing integral formation ofthe barrel flange and container cap.

For convenience in describing the invention, its principlcs areillustrated as applied to the pump type sprayer shown and described inthe patent to Corsette, 3,053,459, above mentioned. It will beappreciated, however, that the invention may be as readily applied toother pumps, such as the dispenser of Cooprider, 3,062,416, in which thestationary and reciprocable units are each of onepiece construction, orthe sprayer of Cooprider et al. 2,956,509, in which the reciprocableunit is held in inoperable and sealed position by a threaded overcap, orto any other pump structure in which sealing at the container cap isdesirable or necessary.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, the dispenser or pump there illustratedincludes a stationary unit which may be molded in one piece to provide abarrel or cylinder 12 from which a suction tube 13 depends and, at theupper end of the barrel 12, a collar portion 14, noting that throughoutthe following description'the dispenser will be assumed to occupy theupright position in which it is normally used.

The upper end of the "barrel 12 is preferably slotted atcircumferentially spaced points,-as indicated at 18, for the purpose ofpreventing the formation of an airlock in the barrel 12 above thepiston, to permit ingress to the container of air in order to replacedischarged liquid, and to allow drainage into the container of liquidwhich may pass the piston and which would otherwise be trapped in theupper portion of barrel 12.

A radial barrel flange 20, formed on the collar portion 14, provides aseat for container cap 21. Cap 21 is aperturecl to receive collarportion 14 and is internally threaded as shown at 22 for cooperativeengagement with external threads formed on the neck of the container.

The collar portion 14 is further provided at its upper end with anexteriorly threaded sleeve portion 25, and an annular lip 30 which isformed by deformation of sleeve portion 25 after assembly of thecontainer cap 21 thereon, in order to lock the cap on the collar portion14.

The stationary and reciprocable units of the dispenser may be formed ofany moldable plastic materials, preferably materials commonly designatedthermoplastics, for instance, polyethylene and polypropylene. Vinylchloride acetate is also highly effective, and in general, any plasticmaterial subject to hot or cold flow, capable of being molded.

The reciprocable unit of the dispenser comprises a plunger 35' and adependent hollow piston 36, the piston being enlarged in diameter at itslower end to fit snugly the interior wall of barrel 12; the plunger andpiston may be integrally formed by injection molding.

The interior of plunger 35 defines a fluid passage 40, communicating atits upper end with a passage 41 which is provided with a valve seat 48receiving a ball valve 45. Movement of fluid upwardly in the passages40, 41 is thus normally unimpeded, the valve 45 serving merely as acheck valve to prevent downward movement of fluid. At its upper end, theplunger 35 is preferably tapered upwardly to provide a conical portion38. A discharge head 37, which may be cast separately from thermoplasticresins of the type hereinbefore described, is recessed insecticides, areused.

internally for reception with a snug fit on the upper en of thecylindrical portion of the plunger and on the tapered portion 33thereof. Assembly of the'head 37 on the plunger 35 is effected byapplying endwise pressure to force the head downwardly on the plungeruntil it assumes the position shown, in which annular beads 39 0n theplunger seat in coacting annular grooves in the interior of the head,the head yielding sufiiciently to pass it over the beads. The head andplunger, thus assembled, are fitted together sufficiently tightly toprevent egress of fluid therebetween.-

The tapered portion 38 of the plunger 35 terminates short of the upperend of the head 37, providing a cavity 70, into which passage 41 opens.downwardly from the finger rest portion 73 of the head intocavity servesas a retainer for the ball valve 45.

Formed in the inner tapered surface of head 37 is a spin chamber 80,which may be generally conical with'its flared end inward. An orifice 31communicates with the axis of spin chamber 80. Fluid may be directedinto the and serves as a bearing surface for guiding the plunger Thereciprocable unit isretained in position in the stationary unit by aninwardly directed annular part 6e:-

which extends into close proximity with the plunger 3E duringreciprocation thereof, while limiting outward move- A stud '71,projecting spin chamber by tangential passages formed in the innersurface of the head 37 and communicating with the cavity 70, as isconventional. Alternatively, rotation of fluid in spin chamber may beestablished as described more particularly in the patent to Corsette,3,053,459. The

structure of the head'forms no part of the instant inven- I tion and theapplication o'f the invention to pumps having a discharge spoutdelivering'a stream of liquid, as in the patent to Cooprider, 3,062,416,is of equal value.

Received with piston 36 and seated in the lower end of barrel 12 is acoil compression spring 52, acting to urge the reciprocable unitupwardly. Ball valve 55,

seating by gravity in the lower end of barrel 12, acts as a check valveto prevent drainage of liquid downwardly from the barrel 12. Preferablythe seat 56 for ball valve 55 forms an angle of at least 45 with theaxis of the dispenser to minimize the possibility of wedging of thevalve in-its seat.

Spring 52 is formed with convolutions 60 of reduced diameter, preferablyadjacent each end, as shown, to provide reversibility. In the positionwhich the parts occupy" in FIGURE 1; the reciprocable unit being fullydepressed,

the ball valve 55 is engaged by the adjacent small convolution 6 0 ofspring 52 to hold the valvetightly againstits seat, thus preventing flowof liquid into the barrel and outwardlyuthrough passages 40 and 41 whenthe dispenser is inverted.

At its lower end the head is formed to provide a depending skirt portion42, formed with interior threads which coact with the external threadson the sleeve portion 25 of the barrel 12. When the head is thus screweddown on the upper end of the barrel, as shown in FIG- barrel are pressedtogether to form a seal preventing discharge of liquid from thecontainer through the slots 18 and externally of the plunger 35. Sincemovement of liquid upwardly into the lower end of the barrel 12 and theplunger 35 is prevented in the fully depressed position I of the plungerby direct engagement of the convolutions 7 37 seats inside the upper endof the barrel and thus'tends to resist springing of the skirt 42 andstripping 'or .overriding of the threads as the head is screwed down onthe barrel. V V T It will be appreciated that in order to render thedispenser operative, it is only necessary to unscrew the head from thebarrel, whereupon the' plunger 35 is raised by spring '52. Liquid maythen be forced upwardly within the plunger 35 by finger pressure on theupper surface of the head to reciprocate the plunger in barrel 12 in theusual manner. Brflerably the discharge head :37 is ment of the plungerin response to the action of spring 52. The annular parties is formedafter assembly of the two units, byassembling around plunger 35 acylindrical tool,

the tool being pressed downwardly against a shoulder formed at'thejunction of the barrel proper with the collar a portion l E-of thebarrel so as to cause the material to flow inwardly V,

'All of the structure thus far described is disclosed and claimedinprior patents, and is merely illustrative of one'type of pump in whichthe instant invention may be employed. The details of the selected pumpare, therefore, not to be construed aslimiting the scope of theinvention.

The novel structure requires modification of the usual 7 radical barrelflange 20 to effect the seal with the container neck, hereinbeforedescribed, The containenhere shown as a glass bottle 35,is formed toprovide a neck '86, externally threaded at 87 to receive the threads 2?.

on the skirt of container cap 21, which may be formed either of metal orof molded plastic. The radial barrel.

flange 2t) is extended outwardly beyond the rimof the bottle neck 86,and terminates in an integrally formed depending annular skirt orcentering flange 94. The

; inner surface of centering flange 94 is inclined downwardly andoutwardly as shown'in FIGURE 2', and is so dimensioned that its lowerend will clear the rim of bottle neck 86, continued downward movement ofthe pump as the container cap '21 is threaded onto the bottle neckserving to supply pressure between the generally conicalsurface 95 andthe rim of the bottle neck, so as to insure that the pump is properlycentered on the neck.

Asealing flange 96, also molded integrally with the bar-.

' rel flange 2%) and depending therefrom, is inclined downwardly andoutwardly as shown, and is so dimensioned that its lower end will engagethe upper continuous sur- URE 1, coacting inclined surfaces 62 on thehead and v face of the bottle neck as the container cap 21 is threadeddown, thereby providing an effective seal between the barrel flange andthe bottle neck inthe fully assembled position,.as represented in FIGURE3. Owing to the function of 'the' centering flange 94, theposition ofsealing flange Q6 with respect to. the upper surface of the neck of thebottle is accurately determined, and the sealing flange will invariablyengage a surface which is consistently uniform.

In this connection, molding of glass bottles there is frequently formedat the periphery of the bottle neck rim a discontinuous or nonuniformsurface, due to failure of the glass to fill the mold completely."Frequently this producees a slight indentationsuch as shown at 997 inFIGURE 2, and anyattempt to form a seal at this point is likely toresult in a substantial proportion of defective units. Also, it isessential that the centering flange 94 be constructed so as to clear therim of the bottle neck to avoid jamming atthe recess 97 'as thecontainercap is threaded down. By arranging for engagement of the sealing flange96 inwardly of the bottle neck rim, correct sealing contact is assured.

While the container cap is illustrated herein as having the usualthreaded connection with the container neck, and this arrangement ispreferred because of the leverage thereby afforded, permitting theapplication of substantial axial pressure on the seal between the barrelflange and the container neck, an alternative arrangement in which thecontainer cap snaps onto the container neck, for instance as shown inthe patent to Corsette, 3,069,040,

granted December'lS, 1962, may be substituted for the y it may bepointed out that in the illustrated threaded connection. It will beappreciated, therefore, that for the purposes of the instant invention asnap cap may be deemed the full equivalent of the usual threadedcontainer cap illustrated and described herein.

Wherever it is possible to do so, components of the pump will preferablybe formed integrally. For instance, as shown in FIGURE 4, the containercap 21 may be molded integrally with the radial barrel flange 20 thisbeing especially useful when the container cap has a snap coupling (forexample as in the patent to Corsette, 3,069,040) rather than a threadedconnection with the bottle neck.

Such further modifications and alterations in the illustrated structureare contemplated as would normally occur to those skilled in the art towhich the invention relates.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A manually operable pump for liquids, comprising a stationary unitincluding a generally vertical pump barrel, a reciprocable unitincluding a plunger having a sliding fit in said barrel, said pumpbarrel being formed adjacent its upper end to provide a generally radialbarrel flange, and a container cap carried by said flange and havinginternal threads for coaction with the external threads on the neck of acontainer for liquid, said barrel flange being formed to provide adepending annular centering flange having an inner surface inclinedoutwardly in a downward direction as initially formed and so dimensionedthat its larger diameter is slightly greater than the external diameterof the upper portion of the container neck, whereby said centeringflange will surround and embrace the upper portion of said containerneck when the container cap is threaded down, said barrel flange beingformed to provide an annular sealing flange of less diameter than saidcentering flange for engagement with the top surface of said containerneck, said sealing flange being inclined outwardly in a downwarddirection, whereby the force acting between said sealing flange and thetop surface of said neck as said container cap is threaded down exerts aradially outward thrust on said sealing flange to deflect the lower endof the latter in an outward direction.

2. A manually operable'pump for liquids, comprising a stationary unitincluding a generally vertical pump barrel, a reciprocable unitincluding a plunger having a sliding fit in said barrel, said pumpbarrel being formed adjacent its upper end to provide a generally radialbarrel flange, and a container cap carried by said flange and havinginternal threads for coaction with the external threads on the neck of acontainer for liquid, said barrel flange being formed to provide adepending annular centering flange having an inner surface inclinedoutwardly in a downward direction as initially formed and so dimensionedthat its larger diameter is slightly greater than the external diameterof the upper portion of the container neck, whereby said centeringflange will surround and embrace the upper portion of said containerneck when the container cap is threaded down, said barrel flange beingformed to provide an annular sealing flange of less diameter than saidcentering flange for engagement with the top surface of said containerneck.

3. A manually operable pump for liquids, comprising a stationary unitincluding a generally vertical pump barrel, a reciprocable unitincluding a plunger having a sliding fit in said barrel, said pumpbarrel being formed adjacent its upper end to provide a generally radialbarrel flange having a peripherally disposed and depending annularflange provided with internal threads for coaction with the externalthreads on the neck of a container for liquid, said annular flangehaving above said threads an inner surface inclined outwardly in adownward direction as initially formed and so dimensioned that itslarger diameter is slightly greater than the external diameter of theupper portion of the container neck, whereby said centering flange willsurround and embrace the upper portion of said container neck when thesaid threads are fully engaged, said barrel flange being formed toprovide inwardly of said surface an annular sealing flange forengagement with the top surface of said container neck, said sealingflange being inclined outwardly in a downward direction, whereby theforce acting between said sealing flange and the top surface of saidneck when said threads are in coacting relation exerts a radiallyoutward thrust onsaid sealing flange to deflect the lower end of thelatter in an outward direction.

4. A manually operable pump for liquids, comprising a stationary unitincluding a generally vertical pump barrel, a reciprocable unitincluding a plunger having a sliding lit in said barrel, said pumpbarrel being formed adjacent its upper end to provide a generally radialbarrel flange having a peripherally disposed and depending an nularflange provided with internal threads for coaction with the externalthreads on the neck of a container for liquid, said annular flangehaving above said threads an inner surface inclined outwardly in adownward direction as initially formed and so dimensioned that itslarger diameter is slightly greater than the external diameter of theupper portion of the container neck, whereby said centering flange willsurround and embrace the upper portion of said container neck when thesaid threads are fully engaged, said barrel flange being formed toprovide inwardly of said surface an annular sealing flange forengagement with the top surface of said container neck.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,601,040 6/52Livingstone 222-542 X 2,763,402 9/56 Livingstone 222542 X 3,064,865 11/62 Scoggin et al 222--321 LOUIS I. DEMBO, Primary Examiner. HADD S.LANE, Examiner.

1. A MANUALLY OPERABLE PUMP FOR LIQUIDS, COMPRISING A STATIONARY UNITINCLUDING A GENERALLY VERTICAL PUMP BARREL, A RECIPROCABLE UNITINCLUDING A PLUNGER HAVING A SLIDING FIT IN SAID BARREL, SAID PUMPBARREL BEING FORMED ADJACENT ITS UPPER END TO PROVIDE A GENERALLY RADIALBARREL FLANGE, AND A CONTAINER CAP CARRIED BY SAID FLANGE AND HAVINGINTERNAL THREADS FOR COACTION WITH THE EXTERNAL THREADS ON THE NECK OF ACONTAINER FOR LIQUID, SAID BARREL FLANGE BEING FORMED TO PROVIDE ADEPENDING ANNULAR CENTERING FLANGE HAVING AN INNER SURFACE INCLINEDOUTWARDLY IN A DOWNWARDLY DIRECTION AS INITIALLY FORMED AND SODIMENSIONED THAT ITS LARGER DIAMETER IS SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THEEXTERNAL DIAMETER OF THE UPPER PORTION OF THE CONTAINER NECK, WHEREBYSAID CENTERING FLANGE WILL SURROUND AND EMBRACE THE UPPER PORTION OFSAID CONTAINER NECK WHEN THE CONTAINER CAP IS THREADED DOWN, SAID BARRELFLANGE BEING FORMED TO PROVIDE AN ANNULAR SEALING FLANGE OF LESSDIAMETER THAN SAID CENTERING FLANGE FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE TOP SURFACEOF SAID CONTAINER NECK, SAID SEALING FLANGE BEING INCLINED OUTWARDLY INA DOWNWARD DIRECTION, WHEREBY THE FORCE ACTING BETWEEN SAID SEALINGFLANGE AND THE TOP SURFACE OF SAID NECK AS SAID CONTAINER CAP ISTHREADED DOWN EXERTS A RADIALLY OUTWARD THRUST ON SAID SEALING FLANGE TODEFLECT THE LOWER END OF THE LATTER IN AN OUTWARD DIRECTION.